24 Hours (19 Sep. 1994)

The pilot for the popular TV series is set during 24 frantic hours in the lives of a group of doctors, nurses, and staff members of a busy emergency room at a Chicago hospital. They deal ... See full summary »

Director:

Rod Holcomb

Writers:

Michael Crichton (creator), Michael Crichton

Stars:

Anthony Edwards, George Clooney, Sherry Stringfield

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Edwards	...	Dr. Mark Greene
George Clooney	...	Dr. Doug Ross
Sherry Stringfield	...	Dr. Susan Lewis
Noah Wyle	...	John Carter
Eriq La Salle	...	Dr. Peter Benton
Julianna Margulies	...	Nurse Carol Hathaway
Christine Harnos	...	Jennifer Greene
William H. Macy	...	Dr. David Morgenstern
Holly Gagnier	...	Tracy Young
Glenn Plummer	...	Timmy Rawlins
Vanessa Marquez	...	Nurse Wendy Goldman
Yvette Freeman	...	Nurse Haleh Adams
Deezer D	...	Nurse Malik McGrath
Abraham Benrubi	...	Jerry Markovic
Scott Jaeck	...	Dr. Steven Flint

Storyline

The pilot for the popular TV series is set during 24 frantic hours in the lives of a group of doctors, nurses, and staff members of a busy emergency room at a Chicago hospital. They deal with the seemingly endless casualties that stumble into their place of employment. The central characters are the chief resident and family man Dr. Mark Greene, who is considering a job in private practice due to pressure from his demanding law student wife Jennifer; outgoing Dr. Doug Ross, who deals with cases in his own personal way; straight-arrow Dr. Susan Lewis, trying to get by another long 36-hour shift; inexperienced third-year med student John Carter; cocky surgical resident Dr. Peter Benton; and troubled chief nurse Carol Hathaway.

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Plot Keywords:

digit in title | tv series pilot | time for title | number in title

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 September 1994 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Linda Vista Hospital - 610 S. St. Louis Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Constant c Productions, Amblin Television, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The pilot wasn't shot in a set, but in an abandoned hospital (the Linda Vista Community Hospital in East Los Angeles). When the set was built, it was modeled after the real hospital, but it's not a exact replica: looking carefully it's possible to see several discrepancies. For example, the entire corridor that goes around the curtain area 3 is absent in the pilot.

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Quotes

Patient: Are you married?
Dr. Susan Lewis: No, I'm a doctor.

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Connections

References King Kong (1933)

User Reviews

An excellent start to one of the best shows around.

The way they start this show is not in an introductory manner. They don't do a slow introduction to every thing, every character around, slowly. They just take us into a regular day in the E.R., starting with a doctor waking up, to a med student's first day, it's kind of a sequence of different medical events. They also give us insight to some of the characters. This pilot is circled around Dr. Mark Greene (played by Anthony Edwards). It starts with a nurse waking him up, and him, going into his day. With this, they introduce to ped's resident Dr. Doug Ross (played by George Clooney), who pretends he's sick before his shift starts. A nice way to start the show. A little humor. We also look into Dr. Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield), an E.R. resident, Dr. Peter Benton (Eriq La Salle), a surgical resident, and the new guy on board, med student John Carter (Noah Wyle). Through their eyes, we go through different emergencies, from traumas, to cancer, to an abused baby, to Carter nearly throwing up, even to the team treating one of their own staff members, nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies, who later becomes a regular). This pilot opened doors to a great T.V. series, lots of medical emergencies, fast-paced action, different story-lines, from medical law suits, to lockdown emergencies, to staff members dying, everything you find in a County Hospital, started here.